Ecologist meets the Queen
via Churchill...

Now vice-president for Scotland of Chartered Institute for Ecology and Environmental Management

Kathy Dale, an ecologist from Tarland, attended a reception at Buckingham Palace, hosted by Her Majesty The Queen last week.

The Queen, who is patron of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, hosted the event on March 18 to mark its 50th anniversary as Sir Winston’s living legacy.

It was an honour to attend the reception.

Kathy Dale

Since 1965, over 5000 British citizens have been awarded Churchill Fellowships, from over 100,000 applicants, to travel overseas to study areas of topical and personal interest.

The knowledge and innovative ideas they bring back are shared, for the benefit of their profession, their community, and, in lots of cases, the nation. For many people, a Churchill Fellowship proves transformational, and they go on to achieve great things.

Kathy went on her Fellowship in 1991 to South America to carry out conservation work in national parks and nature reserves in a number of countries.

Her fellowship was unusual in that it was for 12 months. Since then, Kathy has developed her career as an ecological consultant and is currently the vice-president for Scotland of the Chartered Institute for Ecology and Environmental Management.

“It was an honour to attend the reception and I met many other Fellows who had travelled all over the world investigating a wide variety of subjects” said Kathy.

Fellows from every decade since 1965 represented the Trust at the reception, as well as representatives from The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust in Australia, and the Winston Churchill Foundation of the United States.

To mark its semicentennial, The Trust has just awarded a record number of 150 Travelling Fellowships – investing at least £1.3m in British citizens. This year’s Fellows will travel to 58 countries between them, across six continents, where they will carry out a wide range of projects.

The average length of a Fellowship is six weeks.

Many events are being held throughout the year to celebrate Sir Winston’s life and legacy.

“We were delighted and honoured that the Queen hosted a reception to mark our anniversary year,’’ said Jamie Balfour, director general of The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust..

‘‘Sir Winston’s legacy lives on through our Fellows – individuals who, like him, have vision, leadership, a passion with a purpose, and a commitment to help their fellow citizens”